Apple Bacon Stuffed Sweet Potatoes.

Confession time.

I just walked into the kitchen and ate a leftover fortune cookie for dinner. Like wrapped, still-sitting-on-the-counter-from-this-past-weekend fortune cookie. I have no idea how it made it to Monday unscathed, but it did and it was just my dinner. How pathetic. I mean, I don’t even really love fortune cookies and like most others, open them only to read something that I hope will predict my future and justify some sort of lazy behavior I’ve been participating in days prior. Oh, you mean my fortune says “great opportunity will come soon?” Sweet. I’m just going to sit here and do nothing and wait for my opportunity. Since it’s coming and all.

Unfortunately, my dinner… I mean, fortune, last night read something like “a friend will need your help soon.” What the what? Nobody wants that fortune. Especially right now.

It makes sense though, the whole fortune cookie for dinner thing, since I spent most of Monday eating my emotions in preparation for the rain and wind to tear down my house, and also to calm my fears of possibly not having internet or phone access for a period longer than five minutes because you know, THAT’s the most important thing in the world. It was one of those it’s-dinner-time-so-I-shall-eat dinners, even though I’ve mindlessly ate leftovers out of the fridge all day and don’t need to look at food anytime soon sort of things.

By the way, my emotions were delicious. Pretty sure they are chocolate-peanut butter flavored. If you cut me open, I probably bleed that. Or coconut.

Or obviously, bacon. Now the good news is that after my fortune cookie adventures, I did finish off about a quarter of one of these sweet potatoes that was leftover, because it’s not like I was going to be able to sleep since the wind was going to huff and puff and blow my house down and then all the monsters would come kidnap me. And while they may not really look like it (okay maybe they totally do), these are some severe comfort food. Which I desperately needed because of the monsters, but also after googling all the images of my beloved Jersey Shore being taken out by this mess of a storm. Ugh. Just stop.

In a totally copout, I copied these from my roasted grape stuffed sweet potatoes because I was dying to make a fall version or something similar with my favorite autumn flavors. They make a perfect meal when paired with a salad, but you could also serve them at Thanksgiving and do a makeshift twice-baked sweet potato dish and modify this a bit to serve it to guests. Or yourself. So you don’t eat fortune cookies for dinner. Help.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Poke holes in sweet potato with a fork, then wrap each tightly in aluminum foil. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until potatoes and tender to the touch. Unwrap foil and cut a slit down the middle of each sweet potato. Let sit until cool enough to handle.

While potatoes are baking, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crispy and fat is rendered, then remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain. Add apples to the skillet with nutmeg and sage, tossing to coat, then cook until soft and somewhat caramelized. Toss bacon back into the skillet and set aside until ready to stuff.

Once sweet potatoes are somewhat cool, cut a slit down the middle and gently remove the flesh with a spoon, trying to keep the potato intact. Add the sweet potato flesh to a large bowl, then mash with 3 ounces of goat cheese, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired, then scoop flash back into the potato skins. At this point you can re-warm the potatoes (if you let them cool completely) in the oven, then top with remaining goat cheese. Spoon the apple bacon mixture evenly on top and serve!